


Fool for Love

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: M/M, episode-related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-02-15
Updated: 2002-02-15
Packaged: 2017-11-01 07:58:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/354074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lex muses over his relationship with Clark following the events of "Leech".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fool for Love

## Fool for Love

by Lunar Plutonian

[]()

* * *

**FOOL FOR LOVE**  
Lunar Plutonian 

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with the "Smallville" television show, and any copyright violation is purely unintentional. This story is a prequel in the CarBot AU. I just wanted to try my hand at writing something episode related. 

Squick, squick, and squick again, Lex thought as he tried to purge the images of his father and Vicotria in bed together in that photograph from his mind. He downed his second straight-up gin and then poured himself another glass. 

Lighting a Cuban cigar to go with his gin, Lex reflected on the fact that he was clearly losing it. Yes, he had successfully outwitted Victoria and her low-rent father by planting that phony information on Cadmus Labs in his computer for her to find so that Sir Harry would buy the dud company and ruin Hardwick Industries in the process. But outwitting Victoria had proven about as satisfying as winning a philosophical argument with a dead goldfish. What was truly proof of the fact that Lex Luthor just wasn't himself anymore was how thoroughly wrapped he was around the finger of Clark Kent. 

Clark Kent, Lex thought as he blew three perfect smoke rings in a row; even his name is beautiful. Lex thought back on that time he had pulled Clark down from that Scarecrow Cross back in October. The boy could have been killed, but all Lex could think about as he gazed on Clark clad only in his sky-blue boxers was how perfect Clark was in every respect. The perfect chest with large, dark red nipples, the rippling abs, the large, beautiful feet. Clark was probably extremely ticklish. But how could someone who couldn't be hurt by a car travelling at sixty miles per hour be ticklish? 

Lex may have been a fool for love, but he wasn't a plain, old fool. There was something about Clark that was just plain supernatural, for lack of a better word, but it didn't matter anymore. He had made the mistake of confronting Clark with his suspicions a few nights ago while Clark was repairing a fence on the Kent Farm. 

  * "The truth is I'm just a guy who tried to do the right thing! Isn't that enough?" * 



The hurt, wounded look on the farm-boy's face as he was saying those words had made Lex crumple inside like an aluminum can. It was at that moment that he had realized he was truly, deeply in love with Clark. From the moment Clark had breathed life back into Lex on that river bank and Lex's blurred vision had focussed on his angel of mercy, Lex had known he was interested in Clark. Back then he had told himself it was because Clark was likely something, somebody extraordinary, someone he could use to further his own rise to greatness. The fact that Clark was so nice to look at had made his feelings of lust understandable. 

Then there was poor Earl, the LuthorCorp employee who had been mutated by experiments involving those meteor-rocks. He had taken Clark's biology class hostage while they were on a field-trip to the fertilizer plant, and Lex had put his own life on the line to get Clark out of there without even thinking it about it. And then there was the fact that even though Earl's mutation clearly had a very debilitating effect on Clark, the boy had managed to pull Earl, and Lex, who was holding onto Earl for dear life a hundred feet above the floor of the mysterious Level Three, to safety with brute strength and determination alone. As Lex had stood there in front of the television cameras with his father embracing him for a good PR image, sorrow was overcoming him as he had looked over to Clark being lovingly embraced by his parents. At first, Lex had thought his emotional pain had been because Clark had something with his family about which Lex could only dream. But Lex had later realized that a huge part of it had also been realizing he had strong feelings for Clark, who had been largely shaped into the amazing person he was by his parents' love for and faith in him. 

Okay, Lex had told himself, I have a little crush on Clark; no big deal. Lex was surprised he hadn't realized that much sooner. After all, virtually every time after an interaction with Clark, he would end up berating himself for being so very obvious with the way he would look at and talk to the beautiful boy. But it would always prove so hard to control himself, with the rapt, doe-eyed attention Clark would give him. And Lex had felt his entire outlook on life changing. He would wake up in the morning, think of Clark, and get out of bed reflecting on how bright and clear and beautiful the world and all its possibilities seemed. And he would wonder what Clark was doing at that moment. Probably getting ready for school, Lex would think. And imagining Clark in the shower wet and naked would result in a hard-on that would start Lex jerking himself off so that he would be able to concentrate on work for the rest of the day. 

But after that confrontation by the fence, Lex had realized that he was way beyond a school-boy crush. Only his stubborn Luthor pride had kept him from admitting it to himself for so long. It didn't matter * what * Clark was; what mattered was * who * Clark was. For the first time in his life, Lex had felt like the spoiled, rich brat he had so often been accused of being, for not having realized that sooner. 

On the way to the hospital to see Clark, Lex hadn't been sure how Clark had gotten injured. But Lex had been sure it was an aberration, because Clark had a way of attracting strange and upsetting events to himself. Sure enough, as Lex had been rounding the corner in the corridor in the hospital, he had heard Clark saying something to Mrs. Kent about his abilities being transferred to Eric, who had apparently been on something of a monstrous rampage. Now that Eric was himself in the hospital without any abilities after an electrocution incident for which Clark had been present, Clark was probably back to being "Super-Boy", as Chloe Sullivan had cheesily christened the transformed Eric. 

Though Lex had known he had been right all along, as he was talking to Clark in the hospital, it hadn't mattered at all, not even a little. What had been important was patching things up with Clark, who had been milking it for all he could milk it. Lex had all but begged Clark's forgiveness. And what had been truly scary was that even though he had known Clark was playing him as if he were a fiddle and he had essentially been going along with it, he had still felt all the horrible, guilty feelings Clark "I've-got-boo-boos-and-you're-a-big-meanie" Kent had wanted him to feel. Clarkbar was certainly getting good at playing the game. The way he had pouted and smarted over his injuries. The adorable smile he had cracked when he had said "Only temporary?" after Lex had pleaded temporary insanity. He had wanted to plant a kiss right on Clark's mouth right there in the corridor in front of everybody! But Lex was a Luthor, and Luthors didn't do such things. Just the same, once assured of Clark's good-natured forgiveness, Lex had followed Clark out of the hospital as if he were some loyal little puppy. He had practically been able to feel himself wrapped around Clark's ring finger. 

Lex poured himself yet another gin as he cursed himself for the damnable curiosity that had caused him to let a cur such as Inquisitor journalist Roger Nixon find out about Clark's extraordinary nature. Playing up Clark's injury to Nixon had been Lex's way of throwing the rogue journalist off the trail, along with some explicit threats if Nixon hadn't felt he should obey Lex's orders. In the space of a few days, Lex had gone from being seeker of Clark's secret to protector of Clark's secret. It had gotten to the point where Lex knew there was nothing that he wouldn't do to keep Clark safe and happy. And that scared the hell out of Lex. 

But if he was going to be a fool for love, maybe Lex was safe as long as Clark was the object of his affections. After all, Lex had driven his car past Eric's parents' house and saw the apocalyptic devastation Eric had wrought with Clark's abilities. Clark had been able to do anything he wanted to do all his life, but the boy instead was the dutiful son who always listened to his parents and even without preternatural capabilities had felt the need to try and stop Eric's mayhem. Without question he deserved to have someone like Lex Luthor in his corner, someone who could give him anything he wanted and who could always be there for him when his unique place in this world caused him problems. 

The only question that truly remained was whether or not Clark loved him back in the same way. And the answer to that was "No way in Hell!" Granted, it often seemed as if Clark was reciprocating Lex's flirting, but that meant nothing. Clark was someone who was accustomed to hiding in plain sight, and one of the ways he did that was to be what people expected him to be. In most cases, that meant playing the role of Johnathan and Martha Kent's strange and dorky teenage son, a role he played so well that he made the mistake of believing it himself. So of course Clark would automatically reflect back to Lex however Lex was behaving towards him. It was also possible that Clark could be "curious" as boys his age often were, and his fascination with Lex could make him willing to do some experimenting. But facing up to the implications of such curiosity was something teenage boys were far less willing to do, and any such experimenting could end up ruining the friendship Lex had come to treasure every bit as much as all the power and money to which he had access. 

No, if Lex Luthor and Clark Kent were to achieve great things together, Lex would have to keep his behavior towards Clark out of the sexual arena. Clark might someday figure out how Lex felt when he was mature enough to deal with it; Clark would probably blush and be flattered as all get-out, then his mind would set to work on how best to let Lex down easily. Clark finding out probably wouldn't end their friendship, or at least Lex hoped it wouldn't. Still, that was also a possibility for which Lex had to prepare himself should the need arise. 

Oh Clark, Lex thought as he finished his drink, what have you done to me? Lex extinguished the fine cigar in an ornate standing ashtray next to his plush chair, appreciating how its exotic nicotine added to his gin-buzz. Lex picked up the phone to dial the Kents' number. He would call under the pretext of making sure Clark was okay after having confronted Eric. He wondered what sort of story Clark would make up this time. But once again, it didn't matter; the real reason Lex was calling Clark was because he just wanted to hear Clark's voice before turning in for the night. Lex could listen to that beautiful voice droning on about the nutritional value of goat's milk or something like that because he enjoyed its gentle sonorousness so much. As the dial tone sounded, Lex made sure to remind himself to keep the slur out of his voice as he spoke to Clark's parents. 

[With a special shout-out to the peeps at the Television Without Pity "Smallville" forum, who for all intents and purposes made it possible for me to write this fic. A very special shout-out to Mako for the "Clark 'I've-got-boo-boos-and-you're-a-big-meanie' Kent" bit!] 


End file.
